Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Heavily armed paramilitaries roamed the Sudanese capital Thursday, forcing fearful residents to hide indoors after a crackdown on protesters that authorities admitted had left dozens dead and prompted the African Union to suspend Khartoum. Members of the Rapid Support Forces, who rights groups say have their …
Read More »Police warns of terror threat, unveils Martyrs Day traffic guidelines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | With only four days left to this year’s Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations, security agencies have put pilgrims on the high alert for suspected terror threats. The Deputy Police spokesperson, Polly Namaye, says they have received intelligence indicating that suspected terrorists have sneaked into the country. …
Read More »‘Possible terrorist threat’ closes US embassy in DR Congo for fourth day
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The US embassy in Kinshasa will on Thursday be closed to the public for a fourth day following “credible and precise information” about a possible terrorist threat, a month ahead of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential election. In a statement on its website, …
Read More »Man charged in France for planning terror attack: sources
Paris, France | AFP | French authorities on Saturday charged a 33-year-old man, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a video, with planning a terror attack, judicial sources said. The man, who was not known to police, was arrested near the southern city of Nimes on Tuesday. …
Read More »Gunmen kill three at cafe south of Egypt capital
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Masked gunmen opened fire on a cafe south of the Egyptian capital, killing three people, security officials said Sunday. The attack, which took place overnight in the village of Al-Ayat about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Cairo, left at least five others wounded, they said. …
Read More »Egypt mosque attack death toll rises to 305: prosecution
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | The death toll from an attack on a mosque in Egypt’s Sinai rose to 305 including 27 children, the state prosecution said Saturday in a statement detailing the gruesome massacre. It said there were between 25 and 30 attackers with long hair and beards, dressed …
Read More »COMMENT: The plight of journalists
Publicising violence against journalists will end an era of historically keeping it behind the headlines COMMENT | LEON WILLEMS | Every five days, on average, somewhere in the world, a journalist is murdered for being a journalist. Nine out of ten times, no one is prosecuted, creating an atmosphere of impunity that extends …
Read More »Around 20 concertgoers injured in C.Africa grenade attack
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | A grenade attack on a concert in Bangui, the capital of the chronically unstable Central African Republic, injured around 20 people, the UN peacekeeping force and witnesses said. The assault late Saturday saw two unidentified attackers hurl a grenade at a cafe named “On …
Read More »Somalia sacks security chiefs as attack toll hits 27
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | The death toll from a deadly attack on a hotel in Mogadishu rose to 27 on Sunday, prompting the Somali government to sack its police and intelligence chiefs. The move came after Al-Qaeda aligned Shabaab gunmen staged coordinated bomb attacks Saturday outside the Nasa Hablod …
Read More »Egypt sets up ‘national council’ to combat ‘terror’
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt has created a “national council” to combat the rise of Islamist “terrorism” which has targeted its security forces and Coptic Christian minority, in a presidential decree issued on Wednesday. The decree, published in Egypt’s official gazette, sets up a “national council to combat terrorism …
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